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Monthly Archives: January 2016

I feel like my Christmas isn’t complete without going for a visit to Nabana No Sato in Mie Prefecture. I went on a rainy day which was what I was hoping for since I wanted to capture the lights reflecting off of the wet pavement. It just looked alive and dramatic that way.I was actually surprised that a lot of people came even though the rain was so hard. It was difficult to take pictures with my camera so I just decided to use my cellphone. The place was so crowded that you’d have to go through the tunnels maybe thrice (which I did) just to get a shot with few people on it.There were two kinds of light tunnels. The first tunnel is pictured above. The second one is the blue tunnel. The second tunnel changes every year. Two years ago, the tunnel was pink because of the sakura theme. I wanted to go here on the 25th of December but I chose the 23rd instead because I didn’t want to be with a lot of couples. Christmas Day in Japan is considered a romantic holiday in which you’ll see a lot of couples go out on dates.

The winter illumination in Nabana No Sato is such a beautiful, magical and romantic attraction. I fell in love with it the first time I saw it. This is one of the places that I’ll surely keep visiting every year.

How To Go There:

Go to Meitetsu Bus Center just somewhere at the back of Nagoya Station. You can buy a bus ticket to Nabana No Sato (less than 2,000 yen round trip) on the third floor. Make sure you ask the person behind the counter for the bus schedule so you won’t miss the last bus. Get off at Nabana No Sato bus stop. The entrance fee costs 2,100 yen. You will be given a ticket with a 1,000 worth of gift certificate which you can use to purchase anything from the stores inside the area.

During the holidays last month, my friend went for a visit. It’s rare to have someone from home come and visit me here in Japan so I’m really thankful that she made it happen. I thought I was going to spend the holidays by myself.

Our travel consisted of moving from one place to another so we each had our own luggage. My friend had two pieces of heavy luggage. It was painful especially when we arrived in stations with no available elevators. At the same time, we had to make it to our train schedule. It was a hectic kind of travel as we had different destinations every day.

It was during this travel that I saw the ugly side of myself. We were together for seven days and I realized the consistency of how I behaved. For a long time I thought I already know myself. I’ve always had adequate moments to be alone, to reflect, to understand myself. But I’ve realized that the ‘me’ when I’m alone is different with the ‘me’ when I’m with somebody.

Traveling never runs out of lessons and realizations. It tests you and brings out the negative side of you that you didn’t know existed. It tests friendship and compatibility. It tests how willing you are to endure for one’s person’s happiness. And at the end of the journey, it tests how you and your companion are willing to give each other a chance to wrap up everything the way you envisioned its start, both excited and in deep friendship.